The finest Australia import since some Shiraz I wasn’t allowed to buy, The Vines, hit San Francisco on an incredibly and unseasonably hot night. The hotbox that was Slim’s this night was all too happy to welcome the new school Nirvana-meets-the-Beatles quartet to the stage and disappoint they did not, Yoda. All the favorites were unleashed, from “Highly Evolved” to the cover of Outkast’s “Ms. Jackson” to the track at the top of Live 105’s playlist, “Get Free.” The crowd went crazy, regardless of the heat, and the band fed off of it, down to the last song, when band frontman Craig Nicholls became possessed and continued his amazing ability to channel all aspects of Kurt Cobain, this time by smashing up the stage and jumping around like a madman. It was the perfect way to end the night, a combination of heat, energy and madness.
Next, it was off to the aftershow party at popscene and it was rock stars ahoy, and I’m not just talking Aaron Axelsen and Gary Spivack. The entire Vines posse rolled over, but beating them to the punch was Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich and his band of merry men. All the luminaries stayed until the last song was spun, chilling in their cordoned-off area, within listening space of the dance floor, but safely away from any mayhem. The weather, the music and the vibe all combined to form one of the most amazing nights out in 2002 and one that won’t likely be duplicated any time soon.
